"Hi, Mitch. I need to cancel wine night. Nick just lost his Grandma. I need to take care of him now. Will text as soon as I got time."
When Mitch got the message he was out with Avi taking a walk through a park. They had each a coffee in their hands and were talking about their plans for the vacation and just things in general. Mitch hadn't mentioned Scott, because he wanted to take Avi's mind off of it, but when he got the message, he stopped in his tracks. "Wait, Avi."
"Yeah?" Avi asked. "What's up? Got a bad message?"
"Nick's Grandma passed away," Mitch said. "At least that's what' this message says."
Avi furrowed his brows. "What? That's horrible."
But Mitch raised an eyebrow. "It is definitely horrible. If it is true."
Avi shook his head. "It must be true. I don't think Nick would lie about something like that. Especially because he was there when Scott lost his grandma last year..."
Mitch scrunched his nose. "You know, Avi, I really want to believe him. I want to feel sorry for him, but then again I am never sure when it comes to him. Urgh, I just don't know." He shrugged his shoulders and sighed. "Does that make me a bad person?"
Avi sighed. "I wouldn't say so. It definitely makes you an attentive person, you... love Scott, he's your best friend and with everything Nick has done so far I feel like you just want to protect him."
Mitch smiled. "Thank you," he said. "It's just horrible thinking about Nick. I visited them a few days ago, you know when he didn't reply. And everything was alright, but we had something to drink and then Nick came home much earlier than planned and he was livid. Immediately he ranted about who was standing in his spot and asked if I'd stay for longer. I left because I didn't feel welcome anymore." The brunette shook his head. "Should I have stayed?"
"I don't think so, Mitch. Scott would have communicated if he needed help and even though we both aren't sure about Nick, I don't think that he is hurting Scott physically..." Avi said.
"Only mentally, I know. If only Scott would notice..." Mitch returned and shrugged his shoulders.
"He will eventually," Avi said. "Some time, Nick will make a mistake. For the time being, we'll just have to wait. I hate saying it because it's been going on like this for a long time, but I'll have to be patient." The bearded man loosened his bun and retied it, a thing he usually did when he was nervous or unsure.
"So..." Mitch said. "Besides our vacation, what else are you looking forward to doing while we're on our break?"
Avi was glad that Mitch noticed his discomfort and changed the topic. "Well I'll definitely go back to Visalia for a while, you know just spending some time with the family and the sequoias."
"Oh sounds like a lot of fun. I still need to book but I'll fly out to Texas as well. Missing the family a lot..."
~
A few hours had passed in which Scott had just sat beside his boyfriend holding him and talking to him. To him, it seemed as if Nick had been in a state of deep shock. He hadn't expected his Grandma to pass so suddenly and therefore he needed time to realise and accept it. Then he had excused himself and went upstairs into the bathroom. Scott had left him alone, he felt as if his boyfriend needed some time to himself.
Nick had never been the overly emotional guy, so maybe he needed space to grieve alone.
So Scott had stayed in the living room. He felt bad for not being able to help Nick, but maybe leaving him alone was the best thing he could do at the moment. And since he didn't know what else to do, he texted Mitch to check in with him.
"Hi Mitch, just wanted to text you real quick. Nick wanted some space, but I just can't leave him alone tonight."
"Hey, Scott. That's understandable. How is he?"
"He's in a state of shock. Not talking at all, just sitting there, staring at the wall. I remember bawling my eyes out when my Gramma passed away but I guess it's different for everyone."
"I get that. Listen, I'm about to get into my car, I still need to get a few things from the store but if you need anything or if Nick needs anything just let me know, okay? I know we don't see eye to eye, Nick and I, but if he lost his Grandma, he must be hurt deeply and he needs support. Take care of him and take care of yourself, Scott."
"I will, Mitch, thank you."
After he had put down his phone, he looked at the wall clock. It had been fifteen minutes since Nick had left and even though Scott wanted to do nothing more than to go upstairs and help his boyfriend, he refrained from it and went into the kitchen for a snack. It was almost time for dinner, but he didn't feel like to cook something for the time being, especially because he didn't know if and what Nick wanted to eat.
The blonde ate a few grapes and a few pieces of cheese and had a glass of orange juice before he decided to ask Nick if he needed something.
"Nick? Is everything alright?" He asked after he had knocked on the bathroom door. When he didn't get an answer, he carefully opened the door and sighed when he saw Nick sitting on the closed toilet, looking at the wall. "Hey Nick," Scott said softly and put his hand onto his shoulder. "Come back downstairs, this isn't comfortable, hmm?"
Nick looked up and Scott immediately noticed the slightly red eyes on him. "I just needed a moment," he said flatly.
"I know," Scott said. "But do you want to come downstairs?"
Nick nodded and got up. "I'm thirsty."
Scott smiled slightly. "Another cup of tea?"
Nick nodded. "Yeah. Can you make one? I'll come in a moment."
Scott nodded. "Sure."
Ten minutes later the two men were sitting in the living room again. Scott was sitting on the bigger part of the L-shaped sofa and Nick on the other side. They each had a fresh cup of tea in front of them.
Scott hated that they were so far apart, he wanted to comfort Nick, but he had chosen the seat on his own and Scott just knew that Nick didn't want comfort at this moment. "How are you feeling, Nick?"
The brunette shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. Still a little lost."
"I get that" Scott replied. "And it's okay. But maybe you should start thinking about what you want to do now. Do you want to fly out to Boston? When is the funeral service... it's hard, but you need to know what you want to do. I can do the rest. I'll book flights, I'll take care of everything else, but you have to tell me what you want eventually."
Nick nodded slowly. "Can... can I think about it? Tell you tomorrow? Because I feel like I can't think right now. And I still need to find out about dates and everything. It's a mess."
Scott nodded. "Of, course," he said softly. "We need to organise this, soon, but there's no need to rush."
Nick smiled slightly. "Thanks."
Scott nodded. "Is there something else you need tonight? Food maybe?"
"I should eat..." Nick said. "Can we just order something? I don't want to cook. I just want something to fill my stomach and then I want to go to bed."
Scott pulled out his phone. "Sure, Nick, whatever you need."
~~~~
